It's a Wonderful Life

It is a wonderful life to be an Innkeeper ... during the season especially! The month of December is bringing with it a ton of fun ways to celebrate. In addition to the March of Wines event, Christmas Walk next Friday and our local community theater performing It's A Wonderful Life, several of our local Innkeepers are also offering packages to make it a wonderful life for our guests as well.

I've included a brief description of season specials below. Please click through to each Inn's website for more information and availability.

Adora Inn
Tis The Season Package -- Enjoy two nights in a wonderful room and receive a complimentary culinary gift to take home with you.

New Years Eve at Adora Inn -- Book a one night stay on New Years Eve or the following weekend and include a wonderful candle lit "Dinner at the Inn" for two.

Farnsworth House
Special Christmas themed room, movie nights & horse drawn carriage rides.

Mount Dora Historic Inn
Gift Certificate specials great for gifts and stocking stuffers.

Captain's Inn
Winter Weekday Getaway Package -- 3 Day/2 Night package includes breakfast in bed for two, Saturday afternoon boating on Lake Dora exploring the Dora Canal and a private candlelight romantic dinner for two.

New Years Eve with The Captains -- 4 Day/3 Night package includes Historic Lakeside Inn Gala New Years Eve Party, late day breakfast in bed and exploring the Dora Canal with Captain Barry aboard the "Mount Dorable."

Tremain Street Cottages
5-Night Seasonal Special, boat tours, and horse drawn carriage rides available to view Lights of Mount Dora only 1 block away.

Blogs In Motion

Doing a little experiment this week with blogs in motion. Remember the story I posted called "By The Wayside?"

Below is a video I was able to create on that trip. I hope to post more videos about our local Inns soon. Let us know what you think!

March of Wines

One of the things I enjoy the most about the holidays are the drinking and merriment. Great wine and great friends. The warm and fuzzy feeling of joy you get when you participate in something fun that is simultaneously helping others. Such is the March of Wines event presented by the Mount Dora Lodging Association.

To raise funds for the Marine Corps' Toys for Tots campaign, the Mount Dora Lodging Association will present the Second Annual March of Wines on Sunday, December 14, 2008 from 5 to 9 pm, in downtown Mount Dora. The progressive holiday wine tasting will tour five festively-adorned inns, including the Heron Cay, Farnsworth House, Captain's Inn, Adora Inn, and Tremain Street Cottages.

The spirit of the holidays begins as Christmas carolers from the Warren Acting Company greet guests boarding an old-fashioned trolley. Arriving at the inns, guests will sample a selection of regional wines provided by The Wine Den, The Cellars at Maggie's Attic, and Wine Cellars of Mount Dora. Showcased wines will be paired with select finger foods and desserts prepared by the Goblin Market, Frosty Mug, 5th Avenue Café, One Flight Up, and Saucy Spoon Catering. Wrapping up the tour, Victorian-costumed carolers from the First Presbyterian Church will entertain with songs of the season.

Many guests will leave for home carrying their own Christmas gifts courtesy of Mount Dora merchants, restaurateurs, and innkeepers who are donating exclusive raffle items such as bed and breakfast gift certificates, decorated gift baskets, complimentary dinners, wine packages, salon treatments and more.

"Last year's event was a big hit," says John Cataldo, president of the Mount Dora Lodging Association. “Not only was it a sellout, we filled two SUV's with toys and donated a $1,000 in cash. This year with more Inns participating we're hoping to contribute even more to Toys for Tots.”

Tickets for the 'March of Wines' holiday tour are $50 per person and limited seating is available. Attendees are encouraged to bring a new unwrapped toy donation for Toys for Tots. For more information and to reserve your seat now, contact the Adora Inn at (352) 735-3110.

Chow Chow

If you love to travel with your pets, then gather up your furry pals and come visit us in Mount Dora. Perhaps one of the most pet friendly towns in Florida, Mount Dora has a number of pet friendly lodging establishments for your travel needs. For longer term stays and larger breeds try Tremain Street Cottages or Mount Dora Cottages in the Historic Downtown. If you want a cozy Bed & Breakfast atmosphere you will find pet friendly accommodations at the Grandview Bed & Breakfast, The Farnsworth House, The Captain's Inn and the Heron Cay Lakeview. For a complete list of pet friendly lodging establishments please visit the Pet Friendly section of the WhatToDoInMountDora.com website.

Mount Dora even has it's own website dedicated to showcasing each pet that resides in Mount Dora at The Dogs of Mount Dora.com . Here you can find out about each pet that lives in our town along with their heartwarming stories and photos to make you smile.

We have our own Mount Dora Dog Park, Mount D.O.R.A. (Dog Off-leash Recreation Area). The City of Mount Dora along with private citizens built this park last year and kicked the whole thing off with the first annual BarkFest. They raised enough money for future expansion of the Dog Park.

Downtown on the corner of 4th and Donnelly you will find Piglet's Pantry, Mount Dora's only dog bakery, and in fact one of the only dog bakeries anywhere in the country. Here you will find an assortment of treats that are sure to please the canine pallet.

We also have Hobscott Pet Supplies which is a holistically minded pet store specializing in natural pet foods. The owners are true pet lovers and have over 40 years experience to share in the trade. Be sure and take your pet for a visit.

Also, a number of eateries and restaurants in town allow pets in the outdoor seating areas. Pets are welcome outside at 5th Avenue Cafe, Chew Chew Express, Cecile's French Corner, One Flight Up Coffee Bar, The Mount Dora Coffee House and Pisces Rising on the deck. Some of these establishments will provide fresh water and treats for the furry visitors.

Plan your next trip to Mount Dora with your pet in mind.

Chow Chow for now,

Rachelle

Easy As Pie

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Last year, I remember slaving in the kitchen for an entire day making a spiced pumpkin cheesecake with bourbon cream. Straining the pumpkin ... folding the pumpkin ... making the ginger graham cracker crust from scratch. All-in-all it took me about 6 hours to make. Then I find out that there are more people coming to our dinner party than planned and I thought, "oh crap! There's not going to be enough cheesecake!" So, knowing that I didn't have another 6 hours to whip up another one of these babies, I made a simple pumpkin pie from the recipe off the can. And would you believe, everyone loved the PIE more than the CHEESECAKE!?!?! The pumpkin pie was gone as soon as I put it down on the table, but I had leftovers of cheesecake for the entire week (not very good for my girlish figure).

Maybe it is the tradition of the dessert that gives us comfort and a little sentimental nostalgia, but pumpkin pie is always a Thanksgiving favorite. In case you need to whip one up last minute this Thanksgiving Day, here is the recipe to show you how quick and easy it is. Enjoy the holiday! Don't stress over dessert.

INGREDIENTS

1 Can Pumpkin (15 oz)

1 Can Evaporated Milk

1 Unbaked 9" Pie Shell

3/4 Cup Sugar

1 Tsp Salt

1 Tsp Ground Cinnamon

1/2 Tsp Ground Cloves

2 Eggs

1) Mix all of your dry ingredients together ...

sugar, salt, cinnamon, & cloves. Pre-heat your oven to 425 degrees.

2) Beat eggs in a separate bowl. Like my action shot?
I'll call it my egg blob. Yeah, it's not really a high-tech sports camera. Ha!

3) Add pumpkin to sugar and spice mixture.
Then slowly add in eggs and evaporated milk.

4) Pour mixture into pie shell. Then, take one beaten egg white
and gloss the pie crust for that browning effect.
In the absence of a pastry brush, it's just as easy to use your fingers.

5) Cover just the edge of the crust in tin foil (to prevent burning)
and bake at 425 for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 and bake for 45 minutes.

Voila! Easy As Pie!

Happy Thanksgiving!
--Rachelle

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Cornbread Stuffing

Here is another Thanksgiving recipe courtesy of Coconut Cottage Bed & Breakfast. Nancy says, "I don't generally write things down when I cook , whatever I accomplish is pure luck and happenstance." I am the same way in the kitchen. A dollop of this ... a pinch of that ... let's try a little of this ... it is experimental and fun. Enjoy!

MAMA’S CORNBREAD STUFFING
(serves four-six)

INGREDIENTS

2 boxes of Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix
9 eggs
2/3 cup milk
A dollop of mayonnaise
3 tablespoons of sugar
1/2 cup chopped celery
1 medium onion
1/2 cup chopped pecans
2 tablespoons of butter
parsley, sage, salt & pepper (to taste)


DIRECTIONS

Prepared 2 boxes of Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix by adding 3 eggs and 2/3 cup milk and mix.
Add a dollop of mayonnaise .
Add 3 tablespoons of sugar.
Stir until blended, batter may be lumpy.
Pour mix into two round cake pans
Bake at 400 for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

While cornbread is baking:
- Finely chop 1/2 cup celery
- Finely chop one small – medium onion
- Coarsely chop 1/2 cup pecans

Boil turkey or chicken livers and finely chop.

Boil remaining 6 eggs and slice.

Will need turkey or chicken stock to blend.

In a large round pan, melt two tablespoons of butter and remove from stove. Crumble both pans of bread, add celery and onion, livers and turkey or chicken stock and mix.

If stuffing is too thick add a touch of water and extra butter, until you achieve desired texture. Add salt, pepper, sage and parsley to taste. Mix together and cook on low heat for 10-15 minutes, until celery is soft.

Fold in the pecans and boiled eggs and let settle.

Enjoy!

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By The Wayside

Ever have the opportunity to thank someone that inspired you to make a big change in your life? This past week, I had such an opportunity.

I was in the DC area for training and I had two interesting moments of looking back at my past through a lens.

The first of those moments was when I pulled off the interstate at the exit of the town I grew up in. I had no plans. I didn't know where I was going. I didn't remember my exact address since I was only 7 when we moved, so this was going to be one of those adventures of getting lost. Don't you just love those!? It's my favorite kind of trip. Anyway, after about 15 minutes of wrong turns, I found the house I grew up in. Absolutely surreal. Sometimes I think our past plays in our head like some movie we once watched ... but this type of moment validates that "yes, it really happened. I really did live here!"

My second moment was visiting the bed & breakfast that inspired Brian and I to become Innkeepers. It's the Wayside Inn, in Ellicot City, Maryland. David's hospitality was the inspiration for me to get out of the corporate world, trade-in my high heels for flip flops, and get into tourism and entertainment.

The Wayside Inn is over 200 years old, which appeals to my inner-history buff. I pretty much just stand there silently in awe. There is a tree on the property that has been there since the Declaration of Independence was signed and local lore states that famous guests included General George Washington and John Quincy Adams. The exterior brick is 22" think solid granite, enveloping modern renovations and amenities sophisticatedly done with comfort in mind.

David's finesse made being an Innkeeper look so easy! And as I have learned later from operating our own lodging establishment, that is not always so. But even on the days where it seems like we're working really hard, the perks more than make up for it. I'm definitely enjoying this chapter of my life of Innkeeping.

--Rachelle
Tremain Street Cottages